• the Bruck an der Mur Regional Hospital in Austria (project coordinator);
• the Jonkoping International School of Business in Sweden, which is specialized in computer studies of Health Services;
• the University Hospital of the Ancona United Hospitals;
• the ASUR Marche – Area Vasta 2 in Jesi;
• the Athens National School of Public Health;
• the Ankara General Directorate of Health Services;
• two private companies in the Research and Development field from Germany and Finland (respectively INIT development and Karier oy).

Health Systems all over Europe are facing similar problems and challenges. In connection with an increasing age of the general population completely new challenges are arising. Chronic diseases have increased dramatically, its management creates new needs and demands from the side of patients and the health system. In general the mobility, flexibility and global thinking of patients has increased, the Internet has become the major source of health information for patients before they turn to hospital or physicians.

All these developments lead to new demands and needs in the communication and information of patients (and their surrounding) and the health system (and its organizations).

Modern information and communication technology has the potential to support this new, modern and demanding communication process between patients and the health system with its flexibility and interactivity. Nevertheless, it requires an in-depth approach to provide a successful e-learning and information exchange platform that works for patients, medical staff, and health system staff.

The task to research and develop the basis for such an information infrastructure is the task of the HE-LP Project. A consortium of well experienced and well engaged partner organizations has started this two years project with the funding of the European Commission under the Lifelong Learning Programme KA 3 – ICT on the 1st of January 2011.

Goals and Results

The main goals of the H.E-L.P. project are:

1. Raising awareness about the crucial role of learning and information in today’s and tomorrow’s health systems;
2. Exploration of web 2.0 features for communication between hospitals and patients;
3. Development of an information and learning platform for hospitals and patients as core project element;
4. Mainstreaming of results and sharing good practices experiences.

The main results of the H.E.-L.P project are:

1. H.E-L.P. Survey: in this survey members of the target group (patients, their surrounding, medical staff, care staff, administrative staff, IT experts etc.) have been asked about their needs and wishes for the content of an information exchange and e-learning portal to define the basic content orientation and setup of the portal.;
2. H.E.-L.P. portal master version: The master version of the portal provides the general didactical and content frame for all national versions developed after;
3. H.E.-L.P. portal national versions: For all participating countries (except DE) national versions of the portal filled with relevant information and content have been developed,implemented and tested;
4. H.E-L.P. handbook: All experiences gathered through the research, development and testing process have been channeled into a handbook to provide this information in comprehensive but compact character to other interested organizations;
5. H.E.-L.P. award: development of a validation and award procedure for health organizations’ communication platforms according to a developed European standard.